Some Pentecost 2020 prayers

1) Pentecost us, God,
let us learn to conjugate the Spirit,
shed the comfortable accents
of churchy insider talk,
learn to speak digital,
worship virtually
fit our mouths to something strange,
speaking through a mask of love —

mostly verbs,
present tense, but not passive voice —
for our worry,
like the worry of those who waited
in the Upper Room so long ago
leads us to the active voice of love

and not many possessive pronouns.
Amen

2) God, on this Pentecost –
remind us of the fruit of the Spirit,
for we are trying to put forth
the buds of the church.
Lift us with the wings of the Spirit,
for we must rise above sorrow
on bent feathers and hope.
Confuse us
with how many languages
the Spirit speaks,
so we may listen to our neighbors.
Amen.

3) Let the Spirit come and fill and pray and laugh in us, O God. Let the Spirit come and be in the silences between our words. As our lungs and lips breathe in and out and we consider how much a blessing that simple act is, may true needs, deep longings, unglimpsed hopes, and paralyzing fears, be exhaled into your heart through the Spirit’s sighing. Let the Spirit come and lead us to one another so that we receive not just personal blessings, but the wonderful gathered vision and vocabulary of your Pentecost people, where the distance may be physical but never spiritual. Amen.

4) Pentecost us —
from our emotionally lockdowned upper room
to new ways of interacting with the world,

from a church birthday cake faith
with slices for us,
to a red balloon virtual gospel
that will escape our tight fists
and float into the world,

from the received wisdom
of those in the responsible years
between thirty-two and sixty

to the excited ideas
of teenagers,
even the ones missing
spring-semester opportunities
but still calling us all
to care for creation,

and the precious wisdom
of elders so endangered,
whose lives are often implied
as disposable
but with so much love to share.
Amen

5) God, give us a Pentecost,
that communicates less
like the old pew liturgy
and Zooms with images of Spirit,
brief, surprising,
remembered
in our hearts and hopes. Amen

A Confession of Balloons
O God, forgive us when we let the Spirit of love or hope, of liveliness or adventure, of tenderness or courage, deflate within us. Forgive us when we do not breathe inspiration into all your people or when we puncture the joy of the youngest ones. Forgive us when we let go of the church just because it isn’t exactly as we wish it this year and let it float away into meaninglessness. Amen

Inflation of Grace
God is merciful and gracious – a patch to our leaking faith, helium to lift us into joy —
and a breath for all who need breathing.

Benediction
May your tongue tingle with the good news.
May your heart open
to all the people of the street.
And, when you are bent over by sorrow,
walking masked in a lonely
or dangerous
or over-busy day
may you find the Spirit’s feather on the ground
waiting there to give you hope.
Amen

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